Greta Thunberg returns to London oil protest day after being charged for public disorder

Climate activist Greta Thunberg once again joined protests in London against an oil conference, a day after she was arrested and charged with disrupting public order along with 26 other activists.

The 20-year-old joined a blockade outside the office of JP Morgan at Canary Wharf on Thursday along with dozens of other climate activists, a demonstration held to protest against the private bank’s investments in planet-heating fossil fuels.

Activists from Fossil Free London sat outside the office chanting “their profit, our loss” and criticised a “crisis of inequality” resulting from the cost of fossil fuels and increasing household bills outside the office.

The group said the bank has been a major source of funding for fossil fuel projects since the Paris Agreement when governments agreed to limit global average temperature rise to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

“London is one of the world’s carbon capitals and JPMorgan is consistently one of the worst offenders,” Karolina, an organiser with Fossil Free London said.

“Their profits are being made on the back of a climate and cost of living crisis. Polluters like JPMorgan must pay for the damage they are funding across the world, from the catastrophic floods we saw in Pakistan last year to the droughts and famine in Kenya and Ethiopia now.”

This marked the third day of city-wide protests held by climate campaigners against the ongoing Energy Intelligence Forum conference taking place in London which draws some of the most powerful players in fossil fuels.

Earlier on Wednesday, climate activists occupied the headquarters of insurers Lloyd’s of London with some gluing themselves to the floor to protest large fossil fuel projects they are backing such as the West Cumbria coal mine and the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline.

On Tuesday, Ms Thunberg was part of a large demonstration outside the oil conference at the InterContinental Hotel on Park Lane, dubbed the “Oscars of Oil”.

Hundreds of activists blocked access to the hotel, and among those prevented from entering was Shell CEO Wael Sawan, who was scheduled to speak at the event. He later addressed the conference by video link.

Ms Thunberg and 26 others were arrested from the spot to prevent “serious disruption to the community, hotel and guests”, the Met Police said. Later on Wednesday all 27 arrestees were charged under the Public Order Act.

Fossil Free London, the group that organised the protest, told The Independent that all of those arrested were later released but “many with bail conditions to not enter Westminster until their trial on 15 November”.

In a speech on Tuesday, Ms Thunberg said people in power were “knowingly leading us to the end of a precipice” as she encouraged people “to take direct action to stop this and to kick oil money out of politics”.

“We have no other option but to put our bodies outside this conference and to physically disrupt,” she added.

“And we have to do that every time, we have to continue showing them that they are not going to get away with this.”